Puc Rule Slashed Gpu Profits

January 26, 1993|The Morning Call

General Public Utilities Corp. yesterday said its profits were cut nearly in half by a recent ruling that barred its Metropolitan Edison Co. subsidiary from charging customers to dismantle the damaged Three Mile Island nuclear reactor.

The Parsippany, N.J.-based utility said its 1992 earnings fell to $153.5 million, or $1.38 a share, after a $116.2 million writeoff to cover the costs of taking apart the reactor, which has been shut down since a near-meltdown in 1979. Last year it earned about $276 million, or $2.49 a share.

Revenues were flat at about $3.4 billion.

Met-Ed had asked the state Public Utility Commission to allow it to charge customers about $11 million annually for 20 years to pay for the so-called decommissioning. The request was denied last week.

"Clearly, the effect on the company of the (PUC's) rate order was a significant one," said James R. Leva GPU's chairman, president and chief executive officer said.

"We were most disappointed in the commission's decision," he said. "We will now move ahead and deal effectively with the problem by reviewing our operations and construction budgets and taking appropriate actions to respond and to restore our financial strength."

Met-Ed officials have said the added costs will force it to reconsider spending plans and could result in layoffs.

For the quarter, GPU posted a loss of $45.5 million, or 42 cents per share, compared with a loss of $3.9 million, or 4 cents a share a year earlier.